The Welsh Government works closely with the Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP) which promotes and monitors the Wales biodiversity action plan. In 2010 the Welsh government launched a Natural Environment Framework, "A Living Wales", which focuses on sustainable land and marine management in Wales.[5] The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 put into place a range of powers and duties designed to enable the natural resources of Wales to be planned and management in a more sustainable, pro-active and joined-up way than was previously possible.
Elements
Floral biodiversity
Trees
The sessile oak (Quercus petraea), one of Wales' most common species, can be found across the region. English holly (Ilex aquifolium), one of the few native evergreen trees, can be found in southern Wales. The wych elm (Ulmus glabra), a native species, suffers from disease and competition introduced by exotic species.[6]
Flowers
The cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis), a herbaceous perennial, can be found throughout Wales. Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia), a small flowering shrub, can be found in central Wales. Within the British Isles, the Snowdon lily (Gagea serotina) is found only on the slopes of Snowdon.[7]
Important Plant Areas
Important Plant Areas (IPAs) in Wales are areas of "the highest botanical importance" as determined by Plantlife.[8]
Roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and fallow deer (Dama dama) are the two largest mammal species in Wales. Roe deer are found in central and northern Wales. Fallow deer are found in rural and semiurban areas of Wales. The European polecat (Mustela putorius) can be found in both urban and country environments. Found in the same area is the red fox, one of the most common mammals in Wales.[10]
Native species include ash, birch, oak, willow, holly, juniper, Scots pine and yew.[12] Planting and conservation of natives species is encouraged, because they tend to better survive the local environment. They also help balance the biodiversity and provide wood and timbers.[12]
An estimated 25,000 invertebrate species live in land and freshwater habitats in Wales.[13]
Human impact
Welsh biodiversity has been reduced by human activity. Many native species were lost because of lack of woodland support.[14] Believed to be home to some of Wales's rarest land invertebrates, some 2,500 disused coal tips are the subject of study by the Welsh Government; the tips are home to a wide variety of other wildlife.[15]
Animals
Many conservation projects have been set up to preserve the red squirrel.[16] There is a great decline in the number of hedgehogs.[17] The use of pesticides has caused a major decline in honeybees; a Pollinator Action plan was launched at the Royal Welsh Show in July 2012.[18]
Wales Biodiversity Partnership (WBP) organises the overall plan, and on a local scale, each council carries out its own surveys and reports back, then produces management and protection plants for the identified species and habitats.[23]
The Welsh government cooperates with European Community directives on the conservation of wild birds and natural habitats and wild flora and fauna as well as with NATURA 2000.[24]
^Griffiths, John (2011). "Written Statement – The Natural Environment Framework 'A Living Wales'". Llywodraeth Cymru Welsh Government. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011.
^White, John (2005). Trees : a field guide to the trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Jill White, S. M. Walters. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-851574-X. OCLC 57576205.
^Ellis, R. G. (1983). Flowering plants of Wales. Cardiff: National Museum of Wales. ISBN 0-7200-0271-0. OCLC 13580311.
^"Important Plant Areas (Wales)". Plantlife Cymru. 2010. Archived from the original on 27 December 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
^ abcd"Wildlife and bird watching in Wales". Wildlife Extra. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
^Whitfield, Philip (1998). The Simon & Schuster encyclopedia of animals : a visual who's who of the world's creatures. New York: Simon & Schuster Editions. ISBN 0-684-85237-3. OCLC 39763764.
^Sixty more Sand lizards re-introduced to the sand dunes of north and west Wales Archived 20 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Wildlife Extra, Retrieved 28 September 2012.
^ ab"Planting Native Trees for Biodiversity". Tree Nurseries of Powys. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
^ abcdefghSpecies Archived 18 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine CCW, Retrieved 28 September 2012.
^Terrestrial Archived 16 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine CCW, Retrieved 28 September 2012.
^Steffan Messenger & Gavin Fischer (29 August 2023). "Coal tip repairs threaten rare wildlife, ecologists warn". BBC News. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
^"Conservation of red squirrels in Wales". Countryside Council for Wales – Landscape & Wildlife. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
^"BBC Wales – Nature – Wildlife – Hedgehog". BBC. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
^"Royal Welsh Show: Honeybee action plan launched". Farmers Weekly. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
^"Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystems duty". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
^"Biodiversity lists and duty to take steps to maintain and enhance biodiversity". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
^Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environmental Audit Committee, Halting Biodiversity Loss: Thirteenth Report of Session 2007–08; Report, Together with Formal Minutes, Oral and Written Evidence, The Stationery Office, 2008. ISBN 0215524845, ISBN 9780215524843. p120.
^"Managing land, water and sea". Countryside Council for Wales – Landscape & wildlife. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
^"Wales Biodiversity Strategy". Biodiversity Action Reporting System. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
^"The birds and habitats directives". Welsh Government. 30 June 2016. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
Further reading
Wales Biodiversity Group, Future biodiversity action in Wales: advice to the National Assembly for Wales on the UK Millennium Biodiversity Report, Wales Biodiversity Group, 2002. ISBN 0750428872, ISBN 9780750428873.
David Hill, Matthew Fasham, Graham Tucker, Michael Shewry, Philip Shaw, Handbook of Biodiversity Methods: Survey, Evaluation and Monitoring, Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0521823684, ISBN 9780521823685.
National Museums & Galleries of Wales. Dept. of Biodiversity and Systematic Biology, Biodiversity Wales: Species of Conservation Or Special Interest to Wales, National Museums & Galleries of Wales, 2005. ISBN 0720005604, ISBN 9780720005608.
Great Britain: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy, The Stationery Office, 2005. ISBN 0101646720, ISBN 9780101646727.
Jon Moore, An Atlas of Marine Biodiversity Action Plan Species and Habitats in Wales: A Report for Countryside Council for Wales, Countryside Council for Wales, 2001.
Mike Alexander, Management Planning for Nature Conservation: A Theoretical Basis & Practical Guide, Springer, 2008. ISBN 1402065809, ISBN 9781402065804.
P. Selman, PLANNING AT THE LANDSCAPE SCALE, Routledge, 2006. ISBN 0415351421, ISBN 9780415351423.
Niles Eldredge, Life on Earth: An Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Ecology, and Evolution, ABC-CLIO, 2002. ISBN 157607286X, ISBN 9781576072868.
George W. Cox, Alien Species and Evolution: The Evolutionary Ecology of Exotic Plants, Animals, Microbes, and Interacting Native Species, Island Press, 2004. ISBN 1559630094, ISBN 9781559630092.
Journal articles
Paul A. Ashton and Richard J. Abbott (1992), "Multiple origins and genetic diversity in the newly arisen allopolyploid species, Senecio cambrensis Rosser (Compositae)", Heredity 68, 25–32; doi:10.1038/hdy.1992.3.
Richard J. Abbott, Andrew J. Lowe (2004), "Origins, establishment and evolution of new polyploid species: Senecio cambrensis and S. eboracensis in the British Isles", Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 82, Issue 4, pages 467–474, August 2004. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2004.00333.x.
John L. Harper, J. N. Clatworthy, I. H. McNaughton and G. R. Sagar (1961), "The Evolution and Ecology of Closely Related Species Living in the Same Area", Evolution, Vol. 15, No. 2 (Jun. 1961), pp. 209–227.
K. M. Dlugosch, I. M. Parker (2007), "Founding events in species invasions: genetic variation, adaptive evolution, and the role of multiple introductions″, Molecular Ecology, Volume 17, Issue 1, pages 431–449, January 2008, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03538.x.
Peter R. Sheldon (1987), "Parallel gradualistic evolution of Ordovician trilobites", Nature 330, 561 – 563 (10 December 1987); doi:10.1038/330561a0.
Denis W. Gartside and Thomas McNeilly (1974), "The potential for evolution of heavy metal tolerance in plants″, Heredity (1974) 32, 335–348; doi:10.1038/hdy.1974.42.
S. N. Raina and H. Rees (1983), "DNA variation between and within chromosome complements of vicia species", Heredity (1983) 51, 335–346; doi:10.1038/hdy.1983.38.
R. K. J. Narayan (1982), "Discontinuous DNA Variation in the Evolution of Plant Species: The Genus Lathyrus", Evolution Vol. 36, No. 5 (Sep. 1982), pp. 877–891.
R. K. J. Naravan and A. Durrant (1983), "DNA distribution in chromosomes ofLathyrus species", Genetica Volume 61, Number 1 (1983), 47–53, DOI: 10.1007/BF00563231.
Kathy H. Hodder and James M. Bullock (1997), "Translocations of Native Species in the UK: Implications for Biodiversity", Journal of Applied Ecology Vol. 34, No. 3 (Jun. 1997), pp. 547–565.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Biodiversity, Nature of Wales and Protected areas of Wales.
Tools
GLOBIO, an ongoing programme to map the past, current and future impacts of human activities on biodiversity